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Monday, March 27, 2017

MDHT: Slayer Edition

Phew, what a weekend! Lots of fun horsey stuff! Already wrote that we had a great lesson that'll get a post of it's own. And. Obvi. Charlie had his debut as an event horse at the Maryland Horse Trials at Loch Moy (even if we just did the combined test instead of the full three phases).

Much excitement!

so pleased with this guy
Brita and I were up and out of our respective doors well before dawn to get to the show, plus we had the pleasure of being joined by Austen and Liz. Alas no pics of Austen, as she had to hustle out after dressage for a family emergency ((sorry girl :( )). I was super grateful to have gotten to see her tho!

yay eventing!
We were super spoiled to have Liz around too - and I seriously can't wait til she's able to bring Grif along for the fun! Hopefully soon!!

surprise, you're on candid camera! also check out that awesome xc fence
All in all tho, show day was great. I got my rides out of the way pretty quickly (ie SUPER early in the am) then got to hang around walking xc courses, taking pictures, and spectating while friends and such went through their courses too.

why yes, i'm taking a picture of liz taking a picture of brita. and bella would very much like to know wtf i'm doing creepin in the shrubbery lol
And, man I just gotta say it feels SO GOOD to be out and about, showing with friends again. I've missed this so much. I mean, cheering friends on from the sidelines is super fun and rewarding in its own right too... but nothing quite compares to having a little skin in the game myself.

"wheeeeee cross countryyyyyy!!!" - brita, galloping away from fence 1
It's the whole spectrum of feelings, ya know? The slowly building anticipation as the day draws nearer. Then the more acute welling of nervous butterflies as you actually pull into the show grounds. It's such a visceral feeling, especially when you're just kinda stuck in the truck driving.

CALM DOWN CHARLIE
But then you arrive and it's an immediate rush of activity. Check in. Get your number. Go pee. Settle the horses. Brush the shavings and stray hay bits out of manes and tails. Tack up. Put on your show coat and bridle tag. Obsessively check your watch and beg time to slow down a sec. But it's TIME. Up and on the horse and off to warm up before you can think twice.

seriously. homeboy was quiet amid all the goings on. thanks sir, i'll take it!
Obviously I'll have a full recap for you soon about how Charlie's rides actually went. But bc this is the internet and we all have a deep need for instant gratification, I'll start with the end: Charlie killed it at this event.

All of that anticipation and nervous energy and excitement built up into a very sweet release - we had a BLAST.

nothing but smiles through the finish flags ;)
He acted like a legitimate seasoned veteran. Five dressage rings and two massive warm up arenas? Stadium warm up located in a roped off section of the actual xc course?? Horses going in every direction and trailers packed in like sardines? PA system and dogs and roving hordes of equestrians and trainers and supporting cast members?

Charlie observed it all quietly.

boom. killin it, charlie! also. that dressage test has a 9 on it. a NINE. way to go, big guy :D
He happily and easily rode to the fullest measure of his current level of training. Actually, maybe even a little better than that. I could not have asked for any better from him. Sure, there's always more to want from my own riding. But the horse just made me so proud.

And there turned out to be enough Intro CT entrants (seven!) that it was run and scored as a proper division. Meaning: SATIN for the big guy who finished 3rd on his dressage score of 34.4%, his best yet score on this dressage test.

Stay tuned for details soon. Happy Monday, y'all!

57 comments:

  1. Woooo go Charlie! Nailing it!

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  2. Yay! That's so awesome! I'm glad you had such a wonderful first outing, sets the tone for a season, doesn't it? :)

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  3. WOOHOO!!!!! This is so exciting! you guys killllllledddd it and the team is back!!!!!

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  4. SQUEAL!!! GO CHARLIE GO. He really should work on calming down his wild stallion side, it was getting out of hand. ;-)

    I love the shot of Brita at the beginning of XC! And poor Bella really didn't understand the shrubbery creepin' lol

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    1. ha thanks so much for coming and your pictures are all so awesome!! can't wait to see you again soon!!

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  5. yay you guys. Great post and yes that anticipation up to and panic once your time is nigh is so well done in your blog. My stommach started churning reading it (But i love that feeling of knowing a show is almost here!). Great job guys. One question were you not FREEZING in a short sleeve shirt?? LOL I had a dressage lesson indoors and dressed like i was in Siberia. I was FROZEN! :) HA i am really great you guys had a fun day and i thought of you all day long! YAY YOU GUYS!

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    1. and i cant spell this morning. NEED MORE COFFEE! cant wait to hear more about the rest of your weekend!

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    2. lol i get pretty warm while riding (plus nerves) but we had jackets and blankets later on ;)

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  6. YAYYYYYYY! I can't wait for more of a recap, but so excited to hear about what an epic weekend you had!

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    1. thanks! recaps will be forthcoming when i can get all the media organized ;)

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  7. Go Charlie! Sounds like a wonderful day with all my favorite bits of showing.

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    1. definitely! we got super lucky too - all week the forecast called for rain, but luckily the rain held off just long enough!

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  8. Congrats!! I can't wait to hear all about it!!

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    1. ha i'll be sure to have loads to write soon!

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  9. YEAH!! I'm so glad you had such a wonderful weekend. There's nothing quite like the feeling of returning to the show ring successfully after a while off <3 I'm so happy for you!

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    1. thanks - it was seriously such a relief. i honestly had no clue how things would go, but just hoped for the best (and planned well ahead). but it felt like a great way to shake off some rust!

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  10. Yay!!! Happy you had such a good weekend!
    www.baysoverbaes.wordpress.com

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    1. thanks, it was definitely a very good weekend :)

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  11. YAY!!! I'm so excited for you!! Charlie's mind never ceases to amaze me. What a wonderful guy you have.

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    1. he's really so much better than i could have hoped

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  12. GO CHARLIE GO! What a rockstar. Can I clone his brain and put it into my red mare?

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    1. lol if i can figure out a way to clone him then YES you may absolutely get a copy! (bc i'll be making about a thousand lol)

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  13. AAHHH! Congrats that it went so well! Oh my gosh, that shot of Brita in XC is the best, haha!

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    1. lol it was SO FUN watching brita and bella blast around xc !

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  14. OMG so so so excited for you!!! I am so THRILLED that things went as well as they did and that you got pretty satin too! Can't wait to hear the individual recaps. Yay!!

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    1. that ribbon was serious icing on the cake (even if it means charlie can no longer be considered 'undefeated' haha

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  15. Way to go!!!! And seriously, a 9?!?! That's impressive.

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    1. i couldn't believe that 9 -- actually didn't even notice it upon first reviewing the test, brita had to point it out. and then obvi i had to frantically text dressage trainer c to thank her for all her help lol

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  16. Charlie is obviously perfect. Well done you for making him so:)

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    1. ha as much as i would love to express gratitude and take credit, honestly this horse just came this way. i'm SO grateful - he's just been such a good guy to work with!!

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  17. Yay yay yay!!! I'm so happy for you!

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  18. That's so awesome! Congrats!!! And OMG, a 9! you and Charlie are gods!

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    1. lol i couldn't believe that 9 -- all credit goes to my dressage trainer tho. she's a wizard haha

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  19. Wow that is AWESOME guys - well done!!
    What an exciting debut indeed!

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  20. Congrats. I can't believe you got a 9; that's awesome. Sounds like a really cool event.

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  21. That is fantastic!!! So happy for you guys. Even brought home some satin. And a NINE?! Teach me the ways.

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  22. I KNEW you guys would rock! Congratulations!

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  23. SLAY GIRL SLAAAAAY!!! I love how chill Charlie is just hanging out with peeps and eating grass and being profesh.

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  24. Aw that's so awesome!! Thanks for the inspiration. Can't wait until I can get back into showing (even if it's just combined tests at first!!) go Charlie!

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  25. WOOOOOOO!!!! Hope I can join the MD crew at the next one to see you guys kill it! :D

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  26. Woohoo Charlie, what a legend 🦄

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